Uni Watch Profiles: Kevin Wos

By Paul Lukas, on March 8th, 2011

Back in December I got a note from a reader named Kevin Wos, who said he enjoyed an unusual status in the uni-verse. “I’m one of the guys who draw the college football uniform images on Wikipedia,” he wrote. He also noted that his Wikipedia template had been used by several of the tweakers featured in Phil’s weekend posts, and that he was happy to see other people using it.

I was intrigued by Kevin’s role in the giant hive mind of Wikipedia, so I arranged to interview him. That was during the week in between Christmas and New Year’s — as is so often the case, it took me a while to get around to transcribing the audio. Here, after a lengthy delay (and a fair amount of editing, because we went off on some tangents), is a look at how our conversation went down.

Uni Watch: How old are you, and where do you live?

Kevin Wos: I’m 20 years old, and I’m a senior at the University of Arizona.

UW: What do you study?

KW: I’m a political science major.

UW: Oh — so was I, back in the day. So you’re not majoring in design or graphic arts or anything like that. How’d you get involved with uniforms?

KW: Drawing uniforms and stuff like that has always been my hobby, and Microsoft Paint makes it really easy to do.

UW: And how did you get involved in Wikipedia?

KW: I’m a huge Arizona sports fan, and about a year and a half ago I noticed that the Wikipedia pages for some college teams have uniform images. There’s this other Wikipedia guy out there, who goes by JohnnySeoul, and he had done those images. I think at that point he had done the Big 10, the Big 12, the Big East, and the SEC.

UW: And did you know who this JohnnySeoul guy was?

KW: At first I just noticed that the images were there for certain teams, and then I started communicating with JohnnySeoul”¦

UW: Wait, how did you locate him or identify him?

KW: The uniform images on Wikipedia, because they involve copyrighted logos of the schools, you have to put certain licensing information on them. There’s a template you have to follow, and there are very strict rules for using the logos — you can’t just put them anywhere. That template always lists who the artist is. So I looked at the images and saw that he was the one who did them.

So I got in touch with him, and we started talking, and I volunteered my services to do some of the other schools. I think the first two conferences I did were the Pac-10 and the Mountain West.

KW: Right. And on my page, if you scroll down and click on “WikiProject College Football uniforms,” you’ll get a listing of all the uniforms I’ve done.

UW: So have you taken over for JohnnySeoul?

KW: He’s kind of backed off of the college uniforms, and now he mostly does NFL uniforms. So I guess you could say I’m in charge of the college uniforms now. Also, I’ve taken a lot of the images he drew in his template, which only featured the front of the uniform, and converted them to my template, which shows the back and sides.

UW: Did you need his permission or anything like that?

KW: No, Wikipedia doesn’t work that way. But just as a courtesy, you usually ask someone if you want to get involved with an area that they’re used to working on.

UW: So you’ve sort of taken over for JohnnySeoul, but who did he take over for? Was there someone doing college football uniform renderings on the site before him?

KW: No, I think he was the first.

UW: Let’s say someone else wants to do a college football uniform rendering. Hell, let’s say I want to do it. Let’s say I think I have a better template than yours — can I just go ahead and swap in my image for yours? How does that work?

KW: Again, the ideal situation is that the new artist would contact the person whose work they’re replacing and talk to them about it, and then they’d come to a consensus. That’s what Wikipedia’s all about — consensus-building to create a good article.

UW: Do you handle any other sports besides college football?

KW: Not really. That’s my niche.

UW: You’re basically just doing FBS schools, or what used to be called Division 1A, right?

KW: Yeah.

UW: Any plans to render the uniforms for D2, or D3?

KW: I don’t think so. It gets to be too much — there are so many schools. And as you down to the smaller programs, the resources that I base my images on [i.e., game photos — PL] are much more scarce.

UW: And the images you create, you do all of this in MS Paint?

KW: For the majority of it, yes. But for logos and stuff like that, I use GIMP, which is an image-manipulation program. People sometimes describe it as a free version of Photoshop.

UW: How long does it take you to execute a given image?

KW: Probably about an hour, including the photo research, for one full uniform — helmet, jersey, and pants.

UW: I sometimes hear people complain that the uniform images on Wikipedia are too small, they look to choppy, they’re too low-res — but there’s a reason for that, right?

KW: Yes. Because of the copyrighted logos and trademarks, there are strict limits on how big the images can be, how big the logos can be on the images, how high the resolution can be, and so on.

UW: Let’s say a team comes out with a new uniform — like last night, for example, Air Force used a new uniform combo that they’d never used before. That presumably means you have to spring into action, right?

KW: Not yet.

UW: Really? Why not, man?

KW: Because I haven’t finished their Thunderbird uniform [from earlier in the season].

UW: Oh, so you’re not caught up on Air Force. But are you mentally logging it on your list of things that need to be done.

KW: Oh, sure.

UW: Teams add new uniform designs to their rotation so frequently now. Do you get stressed out trying to keep up with them all?

KW: Not really.

UW: Let’s say it’s a typical college football Saturday, and a team breaks out a new uniform, and there was no advance warning. Is that exciting for you, because you get to document it, or is it a pain in the ass? And by the same token, if a team just wears its usual uniform, do you find that boring or are you relieved?

KW: It’s a little bit of both.

UW: I know about trolls who go in and mess around with Wikipedia text. Has anything like that ever happened with one of your uniform images, where someone came in and intentionally swapped in an incorrect image?

KW: Not maliciously, no. Trolls or vandals usually go after text, not images.

UW: Wikipedia has come a long way in terms of respect and legitimacy in recent years, but many people still don’t take it seriously. Does that bother you?

KW: Not really, no. I’m just working on a hobby. If people have a problem with Wikipedia, it’s no big deal. And if anyone wants to help, I welcome the help — I can’t do it all on my own. So if people want to help out, they can contact me. The can also check out my Wikipedia uniform talk page, where anyone can relay their concerns, questions, and comments about the uniform images. If the commenters aren’t registered Wikipedia users, their comments just show up as anonymous. But being registered generally makes it easier for me to respond to their comments, so I encourage people to register for an account if they’re going to use that page.
———
My thanks to Kevin for sharing his story, and for giving us all a peek behind the Wikipedia curtain.

176 comments to Uni Watch Profiles: Kevin Wos

That NASA patch commemorates the scheduled end of the shuttle program, with final flights on all three orbiters coming in sequence this year. It’ll be worn by crews for the next two flights (final flights for Endeavor and Atlantis scheduled later this year). Here’s the mission patch for STS-133, worn by Discovery’s crew for the orbiter’s final voyage.

The letters are only taking up more space with the shadows on them; it makes the thin font even more necessary.

On the other hand, I’m glad the Tigers didn’t make an extra-wide font for Ni’s short name. It would look a little weird.

Seth F|
March 8, 2011 at 8:53 am |

Wow, I had forgotten how much I really liked those 80’s Mets pinstripe unis….really all the NL’s unis from that era. Being a kid during that time made for summer afternoons full of Harey Carey and the Cubs. I don’t think Dykstra, Ho-Jo, McReynolds and crew would look right in the BFBS gear being worn today…

The racing stripe needs to come back. The Mets, Expos, and Phillies all used it to great effect, two of them with pinstripes. And it really only looks dated when combined with a v-neck pullover. Put it on a full-button jersey, and it’s one of the classic baseball uni styles. I wish the Phillies would just go back to the burgundy era, racing stripes and all, but barring that, either the Mets or the Nats should use it. The Nats have taken a step in the right direction by (mostly) switching from narrow three-stripe piping to wider, two-stripe pipes. Ditching the headspoon for thicker Expos-style red/navy racing stripes would all but perfect their current uni scheme.

LI Phil|
March 8, 2011 at 10:13 am |

The racing stripe needs to come back.

~~~

yeah, um

NO

Jim Vilk|
March 8, 2011 at 10:16 am |

If they ditched the BFBS for the racing stripe, you might change your tune…

JTH|
March 8, 2011 at 10:27 am |

Maybe — just maybe — if the racing stripes were added to the “snow white” unis it’d be an OK look but not with the pinstripes.

LI Phil|
March 8, 2011 at 11:54 am |

if the racing stripes were added to the “snow white” unis it’d be an OK look

~~~

i highly doubt that, though it would undoubtedly look better than the racing stripes in the pins…but to refresh your memory, here’s how it looked sans pins

that double-wide, two color (orange-blue-orange) just didn’t ever look good…

if they were to change anything (aside from ditching the black and the dropshadow), i’d like to see a darker gray for the roads

JTH|
March 8, 2011 at 12:15 pm |

You conveniently left out the part where I said “maybe — just maybe” with the emphasis on the “just maybe” part.

And that photo you linked to is not of Strawberrry in a white uniform.

Also, that old road jersey is a v-neck pullover, which, as R. Scott pointed out, makes it look really dated.

Plus, that uni has the unnecessary white outlines on the wordmark and the racing stripes.

Rob S|
March 8, 2011 at 12:28 pm |

The Tigers tried the racing stripes when they revamped their road unis in 1994. They did not survive the strike.

Mark in Shiga|
March 8, 2011 at 12:32 pm |

Seconded on the Phillies’ burgundy! They never should have dumped that. White with burgundy pinstripes at home, pale blue on the road. THose were great.

I also loved the Expos’ uniforms from that era. The light blue on the road; the cool number font… great all around. Their identity really took a blow in 1992 when they went to boring white/gray that, from behind, looked like a clone of the Cubs only with a less distinctive number font. Bo-ring.

LI Phil|
March 8, 2011 at 2:39 pm |

(1) You conveniently left out the part where I said “maybe – just maybe” with the emphasis on the “just maybe” part.

(2) And that photo you linked to is not of Strawberrry in a white uniform.

(4) Plus, that uni has the unnecessary white outlines on the wordmark and the racing stripes.

~~~

1. yes…because maybe doesn’t even cut it, but you’re right, i should have posted the entire thing

2. that road uni’s not white? really? of course it’s not…im using it as an example of how bad racing stripes look on a non-pinned uni

3. agreed that the pullover is awful, but i think racing stripes would actually look WORSE on a button-down; at least the pullover had the excuse of being used during a time of *experimentation*

4. agreed. don’t like that font or that wordmark. the current font, which is essentially what they wore in 1969 sans drop-shadow, is fine…just lose the drop-shadow and we’re good

JTH|
March 8, 2011 at 3:33 pm |

My point is that you linked to a pic of a uniform that would only bear a passing resemblance to what I’m suggesting. Just because those sucked doesn’t automatically mean that it can’t be done.

The Expos wore white unis with racing stripes and button-front jerseys that looked infinitely better than those Mets ones.

pushbutton|
March 8, 2011 at 4:09 pm |

“I also loved the Expos’ uniforms from that era. The light blue on the road; the cool number font… great all around. Their identity really took a blow in 1992 when they went to boring white/gray that, from behind, looked like a clone of the Cubs only with a less distinctive number font. Bo-ring.”

I hated that Expos’ fauxback. It failed the 1968 1969 test. The Expos got it right the first time. Distinct but not gaudy is what each team should shoot for, and they hit the bullseye. Then they decided to look like other teams.

shakes head sadly…

Jim Vilk|
March 8, 2011 at 4:22 pm |

How about a racing stripe down the button-down placket?

StLMarty|
March 8, 2011 at 6:36 pm |

I liked the racing stripes when I was a kid. Then again, I liked a lot of weird stuff when I was a kid. I just think that it’s one of those things that came and went, and it can’t (shouldn’t) make its way back. It had its day in the sun.

Interesting. I’d never seen it until the other night. And I spent some time at an adidas store not too long ago. I also own a fair amount of adidas crap.

As a logo, it’s not as good as the trefoil, but it blows away the 3 bars.

=bg=|
March 8, 2011 at 11:07 am |

the trefoil is the standard. They intro’d the 3 bars as bar of some sub-brand line called “Adidas Equipment,” then it just took over.

StLMarty|
March 8, 2011 at 6:37 pm |

Myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Adidas!…
will only have the trefoil.

StLMarty|
March 8, 2011 at 6:38 pm |

and the original foam tongue

teenchy|
March 8, 2011 at 8:37 am |

Re South Carolina baseball unis: where’s the garnet? For that matter, why is the state flag patch black?

Bernard|
March 8, 2011 at 9:01 am |

Looks like maybe they changed their name to the Game Cox…

I’m LOVING the matte helmets, though.

jc|
March 8, 2011 at 9:07 am |

south carolina has been wearing those matte helmets for a couple of years now…a handful of other teams also wear them, but only florida comes to mind at the moment. is it possible this is an sec thing?

teenchy|
March 8, 2011 at 9:22 am |

Georgia is using red, black and white helmets this spring but all are gloss.

Michael M|
March 8, 2011 at 10:37 am |

Ole Miss is using matte batting helmets also. I think they started last season.

they still have garnet uni’s; they’ve been using the garnet and black interchangeably recently (the past 2 or 3 years). i think that right now, they have a home and road set in each with colored tops as well…and no less than 4 caps.

JTH|
March 8, 2011 at 10:00 am |

That still doesn’t explain why the flag was recolored on the sleeve patch — or why those unis are completely devoid of garnet.

Are the garnet unis sans black with a garnet flag patch?

teenchy|
March 8, 2011 at 10:54 am |

Full disclosure: I grew up in SC but did not go to college in-state. The state flag and its palmetto and crescent have been widely used on merchandise over the last decade or so.

I really like that new France away jersey, even without going through the terrible-becoming-awesome alchemy that works for Scott (and works for me a lot of the time)… I just flat out like that matelot / Breton stripe thing, plus the prominence given to the rooster, aka le coq gaulois… It would be wonderful if they’d wear a white sailor cap topped by a red pom-pom, but perhaps that’s a reach….

Aaron|
March 8, 2011 at 11:11 am |

Yeah, take away the swoosh, and you’ve got a pretty awesome jersey. I can’t really explain it, but that jersey just really nails it for me.

hard to tell, but it appears as tho in the 1962 cover, the mets have a black crown/blue bill (also looks like the cubs have a two tone cap)

are my eyes deceiving me or does anyone else see that?

LI Phil|
March 8, 2011 at 9:11 am |

um…i should just have gone to the 1962 program cover — the cap is two-tone, but it’s like a navy/royal…and all the caps are two-tone

Rob S|
March 8, 2011 at 9:17 am |

I’m sure it’s just a stylistic effect in this case, to provide enough contrast to distinguish the bills from the crowns on otherwise monochrome caps.

Geeman|
March 8, 2011 at 9:27 am |

I’ve never been a fan of black in the Mets’ uniforms, and always thought navy would look better if they had to have a third color (not that they have to). However, black, orange, and royal blue do represent the colors of the National League teams the Mets replaced (Dodgers and Giants).

I gazed longingly at that 1969 scorecard for a long time. That’s when the world made sense to me. The Cubs would visit each team in the west twice each year, and have them into Wrigley twice. There was something rock-solid and reassuring about 18 games each in your division, 12 games out of it. Today’s schedule is a monstrosity. More games vs. the White Sox than with the Mets? Just wrong.

JTH|
March 8, 2011 at 12:40 pm |

“More games vs. the White Sox than with the Mets? Just wrong.”

What? The Cubs and Mets play less than 6 times this year?

JTH|
March 8, 2011 at 2:07 pm |

To answer my own question: they play each opponent six times, but if you factor in Spring Training, they do indeed have more games against the Sox.

Komet17|
March 8, 2011 at 9:10 pm |

Complete agreeance…

tomservaux96|
March 8, 2011 at 9:02 am |

Re: New French Away Kit

If you thought they mimed being fouled before…

I think I’ll order mine with “Marceau” on the back.

(I’ll be here all week! Tip your waitress!)

Geen|
March 8, 2011 at 12:54 pm |

Tom wins this thread, hands down.

Fight|
March 8, 2011 at 9:52 am |

That Larkin photo is from a slideshow of 100 great Cincinnati high school athletes on Cincinnati.com . there are some great photos there – including Dave Parker in his high school football uniform, a young Pete Rose, and Cris Carter in high school. Well worth the time.

=bg=|
March 8, 2011 at 11:05 am |

I went to Mariemont HS 74-78, pretty close to Moeller. let me tell you, in the 70s, Moeller was like an NFL team. if they didn’t beat you by 50 points, they had a bad night. Just every week, they just slaughtered people. Amazing. The annual death match was against rival Princeton HS. Moeller-Princeton was just intense.

Patrick Kerley|
March 8, 2011 at 9:53 am |

The Barry Larkin find came from a Cincinnati Enquirer picture profile on multi sport athletes in HS. Some really cool pictures of guys you might not expect.

That bizarre football facemask looks like the type of set up that the marines use when they do pugil stick training . Scroll down on this link and you’ll see the exact helmet and facemask under the title “pugil stick training”

Nothing unusual about a Yankees cap overseas. There are cheap knockoffs of Yankees gear everywhere, like roaches – probably only Man United are ripped off more. The ones with fake teams – like the New York Eagles or Chicago Giants – are funnier.

I lived in Holland in 2003-2005, and it was kind of shocking to me how common Yankees caps were. Not even knock-offs; for whatever reason, they were the fashion, and men were willing to pay full price for ’em. Camo pants and a Yankees cap were basically the official uniform of anti-war protesters in Amsterdam at the start of the Iraq invasion.

I quickly discovered that wearing a Red Sox cap let me blend in with the locals (most didn’t know what any particular MLB cap signified) but allowed any American tourist or expat to recognize me instantly as a fellow Yank. It was the perfect disguise.

Matt Beahan|
March 8, 2011 at 11:05 am |

Same here in the UK. People who wouldn’t watch a baseball game in a million years will gladly don a Yankees cap, in most cases not even knowing what the logo signifies. There’s a New Era store nearby that has maybe 2-3 cap designs for most MLB teams, and then an entire wall dedicated to hundreds of different Yanks caps…

I spend a lot of time in the UK visiting my in-laws. The number of Yankee caps used to shock me, but I learned that most Brits view them as a generic New York City shoutout rather than support for any one specific team.

Then again, they’d probably be surprised to learn that NYC only has two big league baseball teams, since London has 13 professional soccer teams, and currently boasts 5 clubs in the Premier League (20% of the league).

I was also surprised at the almost-mystical view they have of New York. I got a lot of cred once they knew where I was from. So no surprise that a “NY” cap would become a fashion totem.

DJ|
March 8, 2011 at 9:17 pm |

I’ve spoken to European friends of mine about the Yankee cap phenomenon. They indicate that a Yankee cap (as opposed to a Dodger, Red Sox, Met, etc. cap) symbolizes Americana over there.

Coincidentally enough, two of the ultra groups that support Olympique Marseille in the French soccer league are named “Dodgers” and “Yankees.”

Dave W|
March 8, 2011 at 11:18 pm |

I was personally shocked by how many Yanks hats I saw in Moscow, of all places, a few years back. There’s nowhere to get legit MLB gear over there; but the knockoffs can be found on pretty much any street.

Graf Zeppelin|
March 8, 2011 at 10:33 am |

OK… Is this official or is it just a guess? If there’s been an official unveiling, I haven’t seen it.

Chris M|
March 8, 2011 at 10:53 am |

That’s what I’m wondering. My guess is that it’s a guess. Probably based on what’s been rumored, especially since there was a rumor that there is some navy piping incorporated in it. I would love it if that were the real thing.

The Jeff|
March 8, 2011 at 12:32 pm |

Obviously just a guess. If there was an official unveiling, we’d know about it here before it ended up on Wikipedia.

I’d wear that shuttle patch. I used to have a ton of NASA patches, but now the only ones I have are Mercury 3 and Apollo 9, 10, 11 and 14. If anyone has others, I’ll trade my Apollo 10 patch with you.

Graf Zeppelin|
March 8, 2011 at 10:39 am |

I have Apollo 13, plus Challenger 51-L and Columbia STS-107 (the two ill-fated flights). I actually just got another Apollo 13 patch at the Udvar-Hazy center in DC, in case I want to do up another jacket. :)

And you’re right about D2 and D3 schools. It’s not always easy to find good current photos of their uniforms.

Gusto44|
March 8, 2011 at 1:16 pm |

Great sources for photos of D2, D3, and NAIA teams are the school websites themselves. A google search will bring up plenty of images. There are plenty of interesting color schemes and designs on the smaller levels of college football.

Aaron|
March 8, 2011 at 2:28 pm |

I agree. You can get really good photos of our entire conference on my school’s (Wabash) site. I doubt we’re the only school that has a photo album or two on the website after every game.

Jim Vilk|
March 8, 2011 at 4:26 pm |

A good number of teams. But two autumns ago I was trying to look at every single D-2 school, and there were a few that had almost nothing.

Kevin Wos|
March 8, 2011 at 2:40 pm |

Well, one thing that also helps me greatly in addition to photographs is EA’s TeamBuilder site. The problem with photographs is that they’re not all uniform. No two uniform photographs are the same, so there will always be some minor detail that isn’t visible in the photograph. On the other hand, TeamBuilder (though the uniforms aren’t photographs) display every single uniform in a uniform (no pun intended) manner, so I can catch all of the little details. Unfortunately, there’s no TeamBuilder for FCS, D2 or D3.

At the same time, there’s also the problem of numbers. I already have a lot on my plate for the FBS. I’m not even done with the standard uniforms for the BCS schools, and I have a lot of non-BCS schools to do as well. After that, there are the past uniforms and the one-time uniforms, like throwbacks and Pro Combats. There are a lot of uniforms to draw, even though I’m currently limiting myself to uniforms worn in 2007 or later. There are 120 FBS schools (soon to be a few more) so I’ve got a lot on my plate. It’s not that I don’t want to do the FCS/D2/D3 schools. I would absolutely love to be able to say that I drew uniforms for every school. It’s just that it would be an incredibly difficult undertaking that I’m not capable of doing right now.

Kevin Wos|
March 8, 2011 at 2:32 pm |

Well, actually, one thing that I’ve done in converting the uniforms over to my new template is to remove the images that illustrated all of a team’s combinations because my template was already pretty big as is, so to illustrate all of the combinations, even for teams with only a few possible combinations, was quite clunky. Therefore, I don’t actually have to do all of Oregon’s uniforms. If you look at Oregon’s page, there are only seven images: the 2010 uniforms, the 2009 uniforms (2010 minus the carbon helmet and with the old numbers on the green uniform), the 2006-2008 “diamond plate” uniforms, the 2010 and 2009 Civil War uniforms, the 2009 throwback and the 2006 Las Vegas Bowl uniform with the logo-less helmet. Once I get the BCS title game uniform done, it’ll be uploaded too.

I guess that sucks they didn’t go back to the old Bullets moniker, but I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. Just recoloring the Wizards logo seems really half-assed. Tho I expect as such from a team originally named the Chicago Packers .

Jim Vilk|
March 8, 2011 at 11:13 am |

I’d rather keep the current colors (not that I like them that much) and ditch the name and logo. I’m fine with the Bullets name, but if they want to honor Abe Polin’s wishes, that’s fine. But Wizards? Um, no.

JTH|
March 8, 2011 at 11:25 am |

There are certainly worse nicknames in the NBA than Wizards. If they keep it, that’s fine with me because I really don’t want to see them revert to Bullets. Maybe it’s because I always thought it was a crappy nickname. My disdain for it probably had something to do with it being too close to Bulls in my opinion (even if Bullets was around longer).

Or maybe it was the old logo that I thought was crappy. Actually, I thought they both sucked.

Hmmm… I wonder if the original Bulls owners going with a similar name was a subtle FU to Baltimore for taking the Zephyrs away. Nah.

Jim Vilk|
March 8, 2011 at 11:32 am |

Wizards just seems like forced alliteration, which is one of my pet peeves. It doesn’t have anything to do with Washington…unless you count the legislators who used to belong to a certain separatist organization with an alliterative name.

Yeah, just recoloring the logo actually makes me like the Wizards identity less, which I hadn’t previously thought possible. I suspect a certain star player drawing down on a teammate in the locker room probably has more to do with the decision not to go back to the Bullets name than respect for Abe’s wishes, but either way that name is gone. But bringing the red back just cries out for a broader rebranding. Between the Capitals, Nationals, and United, DC now has a strong theme of sports teams with prominent red and seat-of-government names. Even the Redskins are on board with the red thing, though a darker shade. A shame the Wizards couldn’t go all-in with a related nickname, like Monuments or Supremes or Senators or, well, a hundred options other than Wizards.

Heck, they could have made life difficult for the future Redskins, who are going to have to give up the name sooner or later, by preemptively taking the Warriors name. Keeps the alliteration, implies a bullets reference, and connects with all kinds of local and national target audiences.

I just got that. You went all “Roughriders / Rough Riders” on us. Good one, Jeremy.

Hey, I’m slow today…

JTH|
March 9, 2011 at 1:11 am |

Ha! Reminds me of a great line from a former sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune. When the CFL expanded to the USA, he was running a “mailbag” column where he answered questions from readers.

One reader asked if there was a possibility for Chicago to get a CFL franchise. His answer was something along the lines of “We were in the running, but nobody could decide if the team should be called Roughr Iders or Rou Ghriders.”

Jim Vilk|
March 8, 2011 at 12:08 pm |

I’ve been advocating for the Supremes for a while. You play on a court…so it would be the Supremes’ court. And you could justify a color change to black.

Cheerleaders could wear Diana Ross beehive hairdos with their dancing boots as well.

Oakville Celery Root (alias Endive)|
March 8, 2011 at 12:38 pm |

However, at least half the players would feel a somewhat guilty when “Love Child” would blare out?

concealed78|
March 8, 2011 at 12:39 pm |

I didn’t really like the Slate Blue, black & gold, but just continuing a crappy logo and name & making another red & blue team in the NBA just isn’t progress IMO. Since “Bullets” is too close to the Bulls or has bad connections, and “Mullets” is (maybe) only funny the first time you hear it. I’d pick “Municipals” or “Hills” or go back to “Zephyrs” if anything. Maybe give them a black (or brown!) & Athletic Gold color scheme that doesn’t exist in the NBA.

pflava|
March 8, 2011 at 1:04 pm |

Unfortunately, there isn’t going to be a better nickname out there for the Washington NBA team than “Bullets”. It has historical weight and is a cool nickname for a basketball team with the whole shooting theme. That said, it’s absolutely not coming back.

Of any nicknames for a Washington team, the only one that really works is Senators. The other suggestions are almost as silly as Wizards (which we’re probably stuck with anyway).

Hopefully the new uniforms will look very much like the old Bullets at least.

“Unfortunately, there isn’t going to be a better nickname out there for the Washington NBA team than “Bullets”. ”

yeah there is… same goes for the Redskins.

i often think of the problem the Redskins have and how to solve it. if it were up to me, i’d lay it out there to the fans and the NFL and name the team the Washington Bulldogs. you can love it or hate it, you can dance around the top 100 shitty nicknames and pick the shittiest. you can also spend mind numblingly countless hours of your life arguing why or why not the team should be named the senators or monuments, or whatever. but i’d say flat out, “we’re the Bulldogs, live with it.” to me, in short, it’s a nod to the Canton Bulldogs & Jim Thorpe. so the nicknames make a nice little transition from rather harsh, to a “tip of the cap” to old school football and an american indian that happens to be one of the greatest athletes of his generation… no biggie

concealed78|
March 8, 2011 at 2:52 pm |

“Bulldogs” isn’t a bad name, but do we really have to bring in left-wing politics to change sports names? (and that’s what started this whole Wizards mess to begin with). Then it becomes a whole political issue & in the end, it is intended somebody is going to win (the Liberals & their sports fans) and somebody is going to lose (the team’s sports fans & everyone else), simply put.

I’m not trying to start that old argument again. But anyways, the Wizards name sucks.

Ricko|
March 8, 2011 at 4:30 pm |

I’m confused.

A nod to Jim Thorpe and the Canton Bulldogs would be “left-wing politics”?

Or did you mean the overall discussion that well pre-dates today’s?

(Trouble is, the Hogettes might have to become the Dogettes, and Cleveland already has such a thing.)

I say Wizards take a cue from the Buffalo Bills, where city actually is part of the nickname…
WASHINGTON IRVINGS
(for one thing, distinctly same derivation as “Knickerbockers”).

—Ricko

Jim Vilk|
March 8, 2011 at 4:39 pm |

Why not just call them the Hogs? It’s perfect, because you have the Hogettes, plus DC is the home of pork-barrel spending…

It’s not “left-wing politics” to object to the Redskins name. Unless, of course, “right-wing politics” requires one to embrace open displays of bigotry against one’s fellow Americans. Seeing as how that describes exactly zero of my many conservative friends, and seeing as how about half the conservatives I know are uncomfortable with the Redskins name, I’m thinking the “left-wing politics” thing is false. In fact, historically, the drive to encourage less vulgarity and coarseness in speech and commerce has been primarily a conservative priority.

Mark K|
March 8, 2011 at 4:49 pm |

How about the Pigskins?

concealed78|
March 8, 2011 at 5:16 pm |

“Or did you mean the overall discussion that well pre-dates today’s?”

This.

pflava|
March 8, 2011 at 2:48 pm |

“yeah there is… same goes for the Redskins.”

Then I’ll say that, if there is a better name than Bullets, I have yet to hear it suggested.

Jim Vilk|
March 8, 2011 at 4:30 pm |

Cannonballs?

Whips?

Ricko|
March 8, 2011 at 4:38 pm |

Filibusterers.
Could be nicely shortened to…
F-Busters.

–Ricko

Jim Vilk|
March 8, 2011 at 4:42 pm |

Was thinking of that one, too. Plus when they play the Sixers, they could be the Philly-Busters.

I’m seriously considering going back for the last quarter of the pineapple one.

Jim Vilk|
March 8, 2011 at 12:10 pm |

Pineapple’s a charter member of my Culinary Axis of Evil, but those other ones sound good.

JTH|
March 8, 2011 at 12:22 pm |

Culinary axis of evil — bananas, sweet potatoes and pretty much any kind of melon except for watermelon would be mine.

Jim Vilk|
March 8, 2011 at 12:27 pm |

Peppers, onions, pineapple, Brussels sprouts and liver.

Not fond of cauliflower and cantaloupe, but they’re junior members.

You might be the first person I know who doesn’t like bananas.

Bernard|
March 8, 2011 at 1:28 pm |

Ooh, I want to play:

Salmon, liver, cottage cheese. Bagels are junior members.

Jim, how in the world do you eat pierogies without onions? I’m floored.

Jim Vilk|
March 8, 2011 at 4:32 pm |

I just started eating cabbage pierogies after decades of eschewing them. Used to be strictly a potato man. Melted butter’s good enough…no need for onions to sully my fair pierogies.

JTH|
March 8, 2011 at 3:44 pm |

It’s not exactly eligible for my axis of evil, but that piÃ±a pÄ…czki was a major disappointment.

rpm|
March 8, 2011 at 5:12 pm |

i can see that i guess. i have not found any yet here today, but i am sure they are somewhere, i have one more chance.

rpm|
March 8, 2011 at 6:19 pm |

strike 3.

there are more dumb-arse green cupcakes etc. then you can shake a stick at, but ask for a darn paczki on paczki day and they look at you like you have an arm growing out of your head, even at bakeries. shameful.

As the Bills uni, it’s A) in keeping with the leaked info we’ve heard; and B) really pretty good, all in all, and certainly an improvement. I do wish they’d lose that curvy bar over the charging bison (designating, what, speed or force of impact or something?), but it really ain’t bad.

Non-Uni Inquiry: Who would you rather have as your starting QB, Mark Sanchez or Ryan FitzPatrick?

haha…thanks, Broadway. Don’t be surprised if you see the 49ers wearing white pants a few times this season too.

As for the QB’s, that’s a tough question. Both are still finding themselves in the NFL and one could argue that Sanchez should be looking better on the field due to the greater amount of talent on his roster versus what Fitz has.

Now how much better would Fitz be if he was the one playing with the Jets’ talent than Sanchez?

The Jeff|
March 8, 2011 at 1:30 pm |

“Don’t be surprised if you see the 49ers wearing white pants a few times this season too.”

I hope not, although it could potentially explain why Madden has white pants with red-gold-red striping as an option for them.

Andy|
March 8, 2011 at 6:39 pm |

No, the leaked info said that it was based on the mid 70s, early 80s uniform, not the mid 60s, early 70s uniform.

not sure how many people remembered it was paczki day and wore their jelly doughnut stirrups to work today, but this is sort of the unofficial start of the stirrup friday season, our opening day if you will. props to those who remembered, and you show a pixture here today, free stirrup with your next order.
from each, to each,
comrade 91200

by the way, i love that they added music to that link, and not just one song either, but 3 that i have heard. everybody polka!

Oh, man, you really got my hopes up for a new Flip Flop Fly Ball chart. Day made to hopes crushed in a matter of seconds.

brendan|
March 8, 2011 at 4:12 pm |

Nice work, but no way are the Cowboys’ home pants that shade of blue these days. Late 1970’s, maybe, but not 2011.

Ricko|
March 8, 2011 at 4:18 pm |

At the risk of suffering all manner of slings and arrows, I have to say that, watching the Pirates in a spring training game on MLB Network the other night, the ol’ Buccos don’t look too bad in black hats, light gold full-sleeved jerseys and white pants.

Not talking about the details of the designs now (I hate the dopey piping-heavy spring training hats a lot more than I do the jerseys), just the particular color combination.

Sure beats the red vests, anyway (the red on the logo pirate’s do-rag being an example of an “incidental” color that shouldn’t be construed as a “team color”…same as the Cardinals’ yellow beaks and bat…or the Timberwolves’ wolf’s red tongue).

Agreed. But Phil will tell you they should be reserved for the softball field, unless the pants are gold too. I loved the all-gold or all-black Pirates uniforms as a kid, but would not like them now.

Why not rotate the Pirates’ white, black, gold, and grey jerseys much as the A’s plan to do this year with the green, gold, white, and grey?

Ricko|
March 8, 2011 at 5:49 pm |

I dunno. Was mindful of one of the Bumblebee combinations, that’s all. And also of the Reggie-Bando-Tenace A’s. Sorta.

Guess what I really was saying was, as a Spring Training look, not bad.

—Ricko

Gusto44|
March 8, 2011 at 7:57 pm |

I too, like the new gold spring training jerseys. As a long time fan, I don’t recall the last time the Pirates wore gold for spring training/batting practice. I kind of like the idea of a separate color for BP/ST use.

The Pirates currently have three uniform combos worn on a regular basis, I don’t know if a 1971 throwback is scheduled this season or not.

Ok uniwatch community I need a little help. I just set up my bracket challenge for some friends and I was going to make my own picks based upon my knowledge of college basketball but I also wanted to make a “mascot bracket” for everyone to go against. I want to have some criteria but I’m coming up a tad short. Here’s what I got so far.
25% Mascot prowess: who would win in a fight
25% Uni aesthetics: which school’s color scheme is better.
25% Mascot uniqueness: which one is more uncommon.

How about 25% quality of the mascot’s uniform? Like the West Virginia Mountaineer is authentic, looks like he smells bad, doesn’t even need a big fake cartoon head, so he gets high marks. That buckeye head thing from THE (pronounced thuh)gets lewwww marks.

Pat|
March 8, 2011 at 6:52 pm |

I like the idea but it would probably create too much work for me. I will already be looking up photos of some of the small schools unis and then I’ll have to use the mascot database to determine the rankings for common mascots. I want to not have to spend copious amounts of time on it. Great suggestion though, better than anything my wife or friends have come up with.

anythinglogos|
March 8, 2011 at 6:33 pm |

That “new” Adidas has been used for a few years now. In fact, I bought shoes with that logo on it in Italy 2 years ago. It wil be used more frequently now to phase out he Adidas “marijuana” logo.

Andy|
March 8, 2011 at 6:44 pm |

Tis is not correct. The ‘trefoil’ (or ‘marijuana logo’) is used for originals, classics and the like. The ‘three bars’ (or ‘mountain logo’) is used for all performance apparel. The circular logo is used for fashion-forward items that don’t really have an athletic focus.

LI Phil|
March 8, 2011 at 9:21 pm |

The circular logo is used for fashion-forward items that don’t really have an athletic focus.

Why is the dude on the right wearing a road uni when the rest of the Bullets are wearing their home whites? And he has no ‘Bullets’ or number. Is that an SI thing or is this some sort of super blood jersey?

JTH|
March 9, 2011 at 1:04 am |

We haven’t seen this one in a while.

Anyway, check out his socks — black and silver stripes. It’s Mike Gale. He played for the Spurs but the airline lost his bag so he had to wear an inside-out Bullets road uni.

Go here and look for the section with the heading “Temporary Challenges.”